Listen to the horses
by issolafox
Summary: A new AU. Its called Elemental AU, Where Chris, Vin, Ezra, Josiah are wizards. Nathan, Buck and JD are kids.
1. Chapter 1

Listen to the horses

Author Megan

Disclaimer Mag 7 doesn't belong to me.

Rating FRT

Information on AU

This is an AU which is based off of Mercedes Lackey Elemental stories.

In this AU

Chris Larabee is a fire elemental mage

Vin Tanner is an Air elemental mage

Ezra Standish is an Water Elemental

Josiah Sanchez is a Earth Mage

Chris is the lord of the a estate,

Vin works for him.

Ezra is watching over the neighboring estate, He is the guardian of the este until the heir shows up.

Josiah is the local priest

Nathan, Buck and JD are Children in the AU

Nathan is the oldest who is around 11 or 12

Buck is about 8

JD is the youngest at around 4 and 5

Terms

An Elemental Mage is a Magic worker whose magic is based off of one of the Four elements, ether fire, air, earth and water. Within their elements they can use element to power their spells, also they are able to talk to and control elemental beings, ie. Gryphons for air, dragon for fire.

Element spirit: a being that is based to that element, again for fire it would be something like a salamander or phoenix, water mermaid and other water spirts.


	2. Chapter 2

Buck tugged on Nathan's arm, doing little to wake the twelve year old. Biting his lower lip, the eight year old shifted his feet. Reaching out he tugged even harder on the sleepy boy's arm. "Please Nate, wake up, we need to leave."

With a grunt, the sleeping child woke up. Looking up into the blue eyes of the dark- haired boy, he frowned at the panic he saw there. "What's wrong?"

"The bad men are near. We have to leave."

Jackson looked around at the rundown room that they had squatted in for the night. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to wake himself up. "You sure?"

Nodding, the younger boy sighed, "Yes, JD is ready to go. They'll be here soon."

Standing up, Nathan took charge. "Alright, grab everything, we're going to sneak out, maybe find another place to hide.

With a nod, Buck gathered their things as Nate made sure JD was ready, then he peeked outside. Checking to make sure that no one was there, Nathan ducked down and cursed when he saw two men walking towards the room.

Since the room they were squatting out in was on the first floor of an abandoned apartment building, they would be able to escape without going through the front door. Going to the back of the kitchen, Nathan open the low window, motioning for Buck and JD to come. He helped Buck out the window, then lifted JD. Quickly handing JD out the window, then their limited supplies followed.

As the young boy reached the window and started to crawl out, he heard the front door being broken down. Hurling himself the rest of the way, he joined the other two boys as they raced away from the building into the cold dark night.

As dawn was breaking, it found the three boys in an alleyway. They had lost their pursuers, but they were tired. They hadn't had a full night sleep in several weeks. They were running out of places to hide and it was becoming clear to Nathan that they were no longer safe in the city. They had to leave it.

Looking at the other two, Nathan sighed. JD was leaning against Buck and sleeping, and Buck looked like he wanted to join the youngest boy in slumber.

"Buck, you think you can find us someone who is going out of the city? Maybe with a cart we can hide on?"

Edging to the front of the alleyway, Buck looked out at the busy main street. Eying a few of the carts that brought goods into the city, he turned towards Nathan. "I can ask the horse which is the best cart to hide on."

"Just make sure no one sees you. Ask the horses, then get back here."

With a nod and a deep breath, Buck walked out into the street, darting from horse to horse.

What felt like days for Nathan, but in reality was about ten minutes, Buck was back with the news. One of the carts was going out into the country, near several big estates. They could hide in back and jump out when they wanted to leave it.

Nodding, Nathan had Buck led them to the cart. First they got JD settled, then the other two settled themselves in the cart. Nathan making sure Buck was comfortable, watched as blue-eyed boy fell asleep. Taking one more look at the bustling city, the only home the boys had known in their lives. Nathan had a feeling it would be a long time before they saw it again.

With that last thought and the cart moving, Nathan allowed himself to fall asleep.

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Several hours later, Nathan woke up and stayed still for several minutes as he tried to figure out what was wrong. It finally dawned on him. The cart had stopped moving.

Listening for several minutes, Nathan didn't hear anyone, so he gently lifted up a corner of the tarp that covered them. Peeking out from under it, he frowned. They weren't outside. Instead they seemed to be in a barn.

Moving slightly, he woke up Buck and JD, motioning for them to follow him. The three boys wiggled out from under the cover they had used to cover themselves, and stepped down from the cart. Once, they were all down, the three of them looked around. JD breaking the silence. "Are we staying here?"

"I don't know, I don't even know where we are. We need to figure that out."

Buck looked around the area. "There's nothing here."

Glancing around at the empty barn, Nathan sighed. "We'll leave the barn, see if we can find any spirits or animals Buck can ask. It may give us an idea of where we are."

The two older boys shared a look and headed to the door of the barn. Stopping at the door, Nate turned back, sighing when he spotted JD trying to climb into the loft of the barn. He called the youngest boy over to them.

Nathan opened the door. Peering out into the yard, he noticed that it was very dark outside. Spotting the stable, he checked to make sure that there was no one in the yard. Spotting no movement, he open the door wider. The three boys rushed across the yard, slipping into the stables just as a crash of lightning lit up the sky.

Reaching the stable, the three boys looked around the small building. The calming sound of the horses' breathing and moving in their stalls, matched with the pounding rain and thunder calmed the boys. Made them feel safe, since no one would come out in this weather.

The children moved around the stables, enjoying the freedom to explore. Buck was over by the horses, talking to them. JD was exploring the dark corners of the building. Nathan kept an eye on both of the younger boys, while doing his own exploring.

After a half hour, Buck rushed over to Nathan. "We gotta leave."

Frowning, the older boy shook his head. "We can't, not in this. Why do we have to leave?"

The eight year old glanced at the horses. "The owners of this place are mages."

"We still can't go. We'll have to wait the night out."

"Are you sure? I don't think we should be here. "

Sighing, the oldest looked around the stable. "We don't have a choice. We can't afford to get sick, or lost. Did you find out where we were?"

Buck looked away from JD, "We're at an estate, that aren't that many people here, we should be safe right now."

Nodding, Nate smiled, trying to offer comfort he didn't feel. "It'll be alright, we'll rest the night here and leave before anyone is awake. We won't be caught."

Looking at Nathan, Buck finally nodded. Calling JD over to them, Nathan proceeded to make sure that they were all bedded down for the night. They would be leaving at first light.

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The morning dawn found all three boys still sleeping. As footsteps sounded, coming closer to the stable to check on the horses, they didn't disturb the boys from their sleep. Nor the sound of the door opening, or the person entering into the stable, talking softly to the horses.

What brought them awake was the curse and the clang of several tools. The three boys opened their eyes, not daring to move or breathe. They listened to the movement of the man.

They were all praying that the man would not see them. They listened to the horses being fed and let out and to the stalls being mucked. They laid their in the dark corner of the room, trying not to move or make any noise.

Just as they thought the man was leaving the barn, they were about to breathe a sigh of relief when the person paused.

Panic raced through the boys. They couldn't move at first. Closing their eyes, they tried to make them selves blend into to the walls of the stable. Nathan finally open his eyes. The man had turned and the oldest boy met his gaze. Almost screaming, he got JD and Buck up and the three darted for the open door of building.

They had just reached it when the exit was block by a pair of legs. The three boys bounced off of them.

Landing on the floor, Nathan was stunned. It was Buck's frantic grabbing and pulling him that got him moving.

They darted towards the stalls, hoping to hide. They didn't get far. Several hands reached out and picked each one of them up.

Instead of squirming like most kids would do. The three went still. Barely breathing.

They were caught. Sharing frantic glances, Nathan looked for a way to escape. He couldn't find one. Exchanging glances with the other two, he shook his head slightly, hoping that they would get a chance to escape shortly.

The journey to the large house was forgotten quickly, panic and worry had taken over. The only thing that they noticed was the sudden warmth as they were led to a room in the building.

The three boys were sat down in a warm room, with a fire place and desk, and walls lined with shelves filled with books.

The men moved in front of Buck, JD, and Nathan for the first time. The three boys looked at the men that caught them. Releasing a breath when he realized it wasn't the people that were after them, turning, Nathan smiled at the other two boys. They would be alright.

Turning, Nathan faced the first man. He seemed to be the owner of the house. Looking up at the blond that was glaring at them, Nathan swallowed as he waited for the owner to speak, hoping it would be over quickly.

Chris looked at the three children that Vin and Josiah had brought in from the stables.

The oldest one was no more than twelve, the youngest no more then five or six. The middle child was in between the two others in age. Staring at them, he was impressed how none of them flinched with him glaring at them. They held his gaze. Most grown men couldn't do it.

"What do we have here?"

"Found them in the stables, figured you would want to see them, Chris." Vin stated from his position against the wall.

Nodding, the fire master looked down at the kids again. "What were you doing in the stables?"

Exchanging glances with Buck, Nathan answered carefully, "We didn't mean to be there. We fell asleep, we were planning on leaving before dawn. We lost track of time. If you want we can leave now and get out of your hair."

The half quirk of the lips worried Nathan, he didn't know these men. Shifting slightly, he frowned when Buck tugged on his sleeve. Breaking eye contact with the blond, he turned to the eight year old. Hissing slightly, so the adults couldn't hear. "What?"

Buck whispered back quietly. "The salamanders say he's okay, just a little gruff. But they won't hurt us. Besides, the horses like them."

Nodding, the oldest boy still didn't trust the man in front of them.

JD, though, tugged on his other hand. "Nate, I'm hungry. We got any food left?"

Sighing, Nathan turned back to the adults, eying them each and judging them with all the knowledge he had about how to tell if you can trust someone. Finally, with a sigh he spoke.

"We're sorry if we bothered you. We'll be leaving, if you just tell us where we are."

Chris looked down at the three small children. Glancing outside, he sighed. "No, you'll stay until the weather is better, or we find someone to take care of you."

The three kids stared at each other, not liking what they were hearing. Before they could say anything, they were herded from the room and left in the care of the house keeper, Gloria Potter.

Watching the kids leave the room. Chris sighed. This wasn't how he wanted to start his day. Looking over at Vin, "You found them in the stable?"

Vin shrugged his shoulders. "They were sleeping in the corner of the stable. The horses didn't seem bothered by their presence."

Raising his eyebrow at that, the fire master stared into the flame of the fire. "What do you think we should do with them?"

It wasn't Vin who answered, but Josiah, who slipped into the room with Ezra. "Keep them, until we figure out why the three kids left the city so fast and are terrified of every single adult they see."

"I agree with Mr. Sanchez, we should keep the boys here."

Three pairs of eyes turned and looked at Ezra. "You want kids around? What's the reason for that?"

Standish shuffled a little bit. "I think one of the kids is the heir for the estate I'm keeping an eye on."

"So you think we should keep them here?"

Ezra sighed, looking at the fire master, then shrugged his shoulders. "If one of them is the heir, they would be part of our group, and I believe we are supposed to watch over the children of other mages that aren't here anymore."

"You think the kids might be mages?"

Chris looked over at Vin, and the air master shrugged. "I think they each have some magic about them. What exactly, I don't know until we spend some time with them."

Looking at the water master, Chris sighed, "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. We need to keep them here, either way. We have an obligation to make sure that they are safe. "

Rubbing his hands over his face, Chris sighed. The last thing he wanted was children running under foot. With a glance outside, he finally stated "Alright, we'll see if we can get them to stay for awhile, at least until we can figure out what is going on."

The other three men nodded in agreement.

Elsewhere in the grand mansion, the three children had been seated at the table with snacks and milk to drink. The three boys huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. The oldest took the lead, shaking his head every once and awhile.

The youngest of the three yawned. With a shared glance, Buck headed over to JD's chair, while Nathan looked for the lady that gave them the snack. Spotting her several feet away, he walked over to her. "Miz, could you tell us where we can sleep?"

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Blinking his eyes awake, Buck frowned. He was thirsty. Checking on Nathan to see if the older boy was awake, he sighed when he found him still sleeping. He didn't want to wake up either Nate of JD.

The dark haired boy, carefully making sure that he didn't wake the two, slunk out of the bed they were resting in. Smiling at himself for his perfect escape, he headed out of the room. Reaching the hallway, he frowned.

He wasn't sure which way to go. There wasn't anyone around for him to ask. Shrugging his shoulders, he started to walk in one direction, Nathan had said they needed to explore. Now seemed like a good time.

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Chris looked at the glass and the liquid inside of it. Swirling it for a second, he sighed. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to be alone.

His wife and son should still be alive. Not dead due to an accident, an accident he wasn't around to stop. Taking another sip, he hoped the drink would help him sleep. He was so focused on his memories, he didn't notice a small body entering the room until the boy spoke.

"I'm thirsty. Can I have a drink of that?"

Chris looked up, and frowned when he saw one of the boys from earlier. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Woke up, was thirsty. Didn't want to wake up Nathan, he hasn't slept enough. Can I have a sip?"

"No, go to bed."

For a moment, it looked like Buck was going to waver and leave. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, "My mommy said that drinking never helped when missing someone. She said that it made you forget about them."

The fire master stared at the young boy. He was giving him a lecture. A lecture about his grief. He was about to open his mouth to retort, when the blue eyed boy spoke again.

As if dragging the words from a long forgotten memory, the boy's eyes were focus inward, not paying attention to anything else. Finally he spoke. "Mommy said that those that died were still able to watch us. They always knew when we were thinking of them. And..."

The boy trailed off for a second, the words escaping him. After a few minutes he spoke again.

"And, that if we tried to forget them, they would be sad and cry in heaven."

With the words out, Buck seemed to have lost interest in the room. Looking around, he seemed to spot something and with a smile and a wave, headed back towards the room the three boys had been given.

Chris watched the small boy leave the room. He was rather in shock. The words that the boy uttered shamed him. Putting down his drink, he stared at it.

Rubbing his hands over his face, Chris sighed. Staring at the open bottle and half full glass, he pushed it away. He didn't want it now. Getting up from the chair, he moved over to the window.

Pushing the curtain to the side, he looked out into the dark night. Looking up at the clouds, he sighed. How did it take an eight year old to point out that what he was doing wasn't honoring his wife or son's memory?

With a final look at the stars and the moon, he promised his wife and son he would try to be better. He wasn't remembering his family by getting drunk every night.

Turning away from the window, he looked at his room, frowning about the mess. Rolling up his sleeves he flexed his fingers. He was going to clean up and make his dead family proud of him.

Yawning, Nathan blinked. The sun was shining through the window. Stretching, he looked around the room. JD and Buck were still asleep.

Wiggling his way out of the bed, he looked around the room. Deciding that he needed to know the layout of the room he was in, he started to explore.

Twenty minutes later, he headed back to the bed. He had spotted Buck waking up. As he reached the bed, the younger boy moved off the bed, landing on the floor with a slight thump. Blue eyes met with brown. A grin crossed the two boy's faces.

"Morning, what are you doing?" Buck asked.

Rolling his eyes slightly, the older boy replied. "Exploring, waiting for you two to wake up. You think we should wake up JD?"

Looking over at the youngest boy, Buck nodded. "Yes, if we let him sleep longer, he's going to miss breakfast."

Before either of the two boys could move, JD's eyes popped open and looked over the edge of the bed. "Breakfast?"

The two older boys shared a grin. "Yes, time for some food, you want to get dressed and then we'll head down and see if we can find the kitchen."

With a rustle of clothing and with some minor shouting, the three boys quickly got dressed. When the boys were dressed, they open the door to their room. Eying the hallway, they shared a glance and headed down the corridor as quietly as they could.

Mrs. Gloria Potter looked at the entrance to the kitchen when she heard the clomp of several feet.,

Smiling at the three boys that came into the kitchen, she watched as the boys stopped just in front of her, the two younger boys standing a half step behind the oldest one. "Mrs. Potter, could we have some breakfast?" The oldest asked.

Looking down at the children, Gloria couldn't help but smile. The three young boys reminded her of her children when they were young. Setting the boys up at the table, she put out eggs and sausage and toast for the boys to eat. Leaving for a minute, she came back with three tall glasses of milk.

The boys said thank you to the housekeeper, and dug into the food.

As the boys were eating, Vin entered the kitchen, wincing a little as he sat down. The boys exchanged looks. Nathan stared at Vin for several long minutes. "What's wrong?"

Th air master blinked. "Excuse me?"

Nathan swallowed. Gathering up his courage, the young boy spoke again. "Are you hurt? You winced when you sat down."

Looking at the younger boy, Vin chuckled slightly. "Just my back, it bothers me from time to time. Don't worry about it."

Nodding, the oldest boy turned and started to whisper to Buck. JD ignored the whispering and continued eating. After several minutes, the other two boys looked over at Vin. "Are you going to go outside to work with the horses?"

"Yes."

This made JD stop eating. All three boys shared a glance, then looked at Vin "Can we join you, please?"

Eying the three boys, he was about to answer when Chris entered the room.

Vin looked at Chris closely. Frowning for a moment, he checked the time. Clearing his throat slightly, he asked, "Are you okay, Chris? You're up kinda early."

Smirking every so slightly, the Fire Master sat down at the table. "I'm fine, had a good night sleep."

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Vin tried to think when the last time was that he had seen Chris wake up without a hang over. Smiling slightly in response, he turned back to the three boys. "You three sure you want to see the horses?"

The enthusiastic nods from the kids made the young man smile. Turning towards Chris, Vin asked. "You think that taking the boys out to the stables is okay?"

Looking over at their three guests, the fire master smiled. "Yes, I think I'll join you. I think I could get some air."

Blinking in surprise. Vin merely nodded. He had a feeling that this was going to become a very interesting day.

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Blinking, Ezra paused at the threshold of the stable. He couldn't believe his eyes. Mr. Larabee was on the floor, wrestling with the two youngest boys.,while Vin was doing the same with the oldest.

Watching for several minutes, Ezra wondered what happened between last night and the morning. Studying the tableau in front of him, he almost missed a slight glow from Nathan's hands as they brushed against Tanner's back.

Frowning, he stared at the young boy and the action. He tried to figure out what Nathan was doing to Vin.

After several minutes, though, the glowing faded out. The young boy got off of Vin and headed towards the other two boys, who were not succeeding in holding down Chris.

Stepping over to help Vin up, Ezra quirked an eyebrow. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine..better then fine, my back doesn't hurt. How..."

"It seems that Nathan has an ability to heal people, I have a feeling that the young boy may have some earth elemental magic in him."

"What about the other two?"

Ezra shook his head. "Mr. Tanner, I'm not a mind reader, I only can tell you what I saw. If we wanted to find that out, we would have to spend time with the boys."

Staring at the pile of men and boys on the stable floor, Vin smiled. "I don't think that will be too hard.

Later that night, the four elemental masters were again meeting in Chris' study. The men were seated around the fire master's desk. Josiah, the earth master, was the first to speak. "How was your day with the kids?"

The three men shared a glance. Shifting slightly, Chris sighed. "It was fine. They helped out around the place, and played tag for awhile with the different elemental spirits and animals."

Raising an eyebrow, Josiah looked around the room. "They played with elementals?"

Ezra answered that, "Yes, it seems that young Buck, has his way with talking with them, and getting them to play with him."

Looking at Ezra, the priest frowned. "What about the other two?"

"Nathan seems to have some earth magic. He was able to fix my back without me noticing."

Blinking, Josiah was silent for a second. "He just healed you without centering himself, or staying still?"

Vin shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, he didn't seem to have a problem with it. He did it while he was wrestling with me."

Not quite believing what he was hearing, Josiah turned to Chris. "Ever hear anything like that? Cause most earth masters I know have to ground themselves first.

Chris looked at the group for a minute. "No, I've never heard of that, but each person uses their magic differently. So it isn't impossible. But the question to answer is, who trained hi? He seems to have more control over the healing aspect that we've seen then any other mage."

Vin took up the conversation. "I think Buck might be a fire master. He seems to have an easier time with that element. Course I've never heard of a fire master that could get any water elements to share baths with them."

Chris's head shot up. "Why do you think fire is his element? He seems on terms with all of them."

The air mage sighed, "Yes, but he seems to have more of a liking for the fire ones. Course they might not be elemental mages, they just might just have magic."

The four men went silent for a moment. Finally, Ezra shook his head. "No, I don't think so. A majority of the children that have strong enough talents that can control them, don't have the affiliation to elements like this. They can't interact with them much less get them to play with them."

Nodding, Chris shifted in his seat. "So if the two older boys are earth and fire, respectfully, what does that make the youngest?"

The three other men looked at each other. Ezra sighed slightly, "I believe the youngest is a water mage, at least, he has the leanings towards one. But we won't know for sure until he is older."

In the silence after that statement, each man was thinking about the facts that they were just discussing The Fire Master finally spoke, disturbing the silence that had settled, "I think its obvious what we have to do. We need to take these children in and watch them. We also need to learn what they are running from."

The three other men exchanged surprised glances. Vin was the first one to recover from his surprise. "You want to keep them? What is going on?"

"What do you mean, what is going on?" Chris replied while smirking.

The Air Master growled "You haven't taken a drink today, smiled and even, almost, told a joke."

"Nothing. Nothing is going on."

Vin shook his head. "It's the children. One of them talked to you."

Glaring at Vin, and seeing the man just smile, Chris sighed in defeat. "Yes, one of them talked to me. Made me rethink some things. Can we drop it now?"

With a nod, Vin let it drop, but he was going to bring it up again when Chris wasn't thinking about it. "So, are we going to ask them if they want to stay?"

"Yes, we'll ask them to stay." Chris stated.

With that, the men got up and headed out of the study to find the boys.

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The children, meanwhile, were in one of the main rooms. They were playing with a deck of cards, every once and awhile one of them would look out the window. Finally, Buck sighed and looked over at Nathan. "Nate, do you think we were right in staying?"

"I don't think we had a choice. They weren't going to let us walk out of here. We don't even know where we are. They don't seem like bad men. They aren't the men that are after us. The spirits haven't given you any warning, have they?"

"No, they all seem happy here. They seen to like the men and the men have never hurt them. Besides, the horses like them."

Nathan grinned slightly. "The horses may like them, but I don't think we can base our decision on that. Besides, I don't know if we've be safe here, what if the other men come? Do you think they would turn us over to them?"

Buck looked around the room. He was silent for a few minutes, shifting every once and a while. His mind was trying to side with his heart. With a sigh that was misplaced on one so young, he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I don't think so. But I don't know for sure."

Nathan nodded. He felt the same way. He wanted to believe that these men were different, that they wouldn't turn them over, but how could they be sure?

Nate looked back out the window. He stared at the night sky, wishing for it to give him the answer to the question that plagued him. Did he dare trust the men of the household?

As his mind tumbled over these thoughts, he didn't notice that the men had come into the room until Buck hissed a warning to him. Blinking he turned around. Moving over to Buck and JD, Nathan tried not to worry. He had a feeling that the conversation that was going to come next wasn't going to be fun.

As the two groups took seats, the three kids waited for the shoe to drop. The four mages sat and looked at them. Finally the lord of the manor spoke. "We have some questions for you. You don't have to answer them, but we would like to know the answer."

The two older boys shared a glance. They both knew that this was coming, but they hadn't figured out how much they could share. Nathan finally answered, "Yes, we know. We'll answer what we can."

The four men were surprised with the answer. Taking a breath, Chris asked the children the first question. "Do you know what we are?"

Nathan and Buck shared a glance, this wasn't the question they were excepting. After a few seconds of silence, Nathan took a deep breath, bracing himself. "Yes, you're elemental mages. You are a fire mage, Mr. Tanner is an air mage, Mr. Standish is a water mage, and Mr. Sanchez is an earth mage. Within your element, you can control spirits to help you perform magic."

Blinking at the answer, since it wasn't the answer that the group was excepting, the men shared a quick glance. Ezra spoke up. "Where did you learn about elemental masters?"

Buck spoke up. "Our parents told us about them."

"Your parents? Were they mages as well?"

Josiah's question was met with silence, until the youngest boy spoke up. "No, mommy said that she knew of it cause of her Uncle once talked about it, and told her."

The four men looked at each other, Vin frowned, and asked the next question. "What was your mom's name?"

JD frowned, looking to the older boys to see if he should answer it. Seeing the nods, JD smiled. "Ma."

The other three men tried to hide their grins at the answer, Vin shrugged his shoulders. He should have excepted that. Vin looked over at Chris to see where he wanted to go next. With a glare directed towards the air wizard, the fire wizard took over questioning. Looking at the older boy, he stopped his glaring and asked a question. "Did you heal Vin today?"

The older boy shifted position as a guilty look crossed his face. He had thought it went unnoticed. "I'm sorry, I know I'm supposed to ask permission first, but I noticed that his back was bothering him, and you had been so nice to us. It was a simple thing that needed healing. I thought it wouldn't be noticed."

The adults shared a glance, Josiah cleared his throat. "We aren't mad at you, we just were curious how you could heal him without first centering yourself. What if you made a mistake?"

Puzzled, the older boy frowned. "What do you mean a mistake? Why would I? I don't know what you mean by grounding. You just focus and make sure that you are healing what needs to be healed without disturbing the rest of the area. The person could be doing anything. I thought that was the way one does it."

Josiah frowned, "What made you think that was the way it was done?"

Looking at the Earth Wizard, Nathan chewed his lip for a minute. Then, with a shrug, he spoke. "The earth elemental that taught me. He said that the patient being still and grounded was needed for those who weren't trained right. Healing was natural, the body knows what to do. You just help it along the right path."

The men shared a glance, they had never heard of a elemental teaching anyone how to heal or using their powers. Clearing his throat, Ezra asked. "Why did the elemental teach you?"

Buck took up the answer, "Cause I asked, and in return we helped it out by cleaning a spot for it in the city."

The mages stared at each other, they had never heard of such a thing. Elementals usually just didn't offer to help without being asked first. "It just taught you."

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "It saw us playing, and JD hurt himself. I wanted to help. It said it didn't like seeing us worry."

The men still exchanged glances, but for now they were going to let that one slide. Whether it was true or not, it seemed like the young boy had learned how to heal someone different than every other healer they had heard of. Chris switched he line of questioning. "Why were you three hidden on the cart?"

The two oldest shared glances, Nathan took the question. "We had to leave the city. We thought someone was chasing us. We needed a way out, and the horses said that we could. Since they were going to be pulling our weight, we thought we should get their permission."

"You asked the horses?"

The three boys smiled at each other. "Yes, they know where they're going and which cart would be the best."

Buck stated, glancing at the men to make sure they weren't mad. Sharing a glance with Nathan, he nodded slightly. Nathan breathed slightly easier. The two boys faced the men, ready for the next question.

Chris saw the small communication but didn't let them know he saw it Shifting slightly, he asked his next question. "Where are you parents?"

The three children stared at the group. The three kids turned and talked between themselves. Finally, with a sigh, Nathan cleared his throat. "They're dead. Buck's mom died, then JD's mom, finally my dad died. The men who are following us killed them. We can leave, its not a problem. We don't want you to get into trouble."

Vin smiled, answering quickly, "You don't have to leave, nothing will get you here. Besides, I think Chris here wants you to stay."

The eyes on the three boys got really big. They turned those eyes to the fire master. Almost wilting in the pleading eyes of the three boys, Chris had to shake himself to break eye contact. "Well, it's winter, and it isn't safe for you three to be traveling in it. So, we were talking, and wondered if you wanted to stay here for awhile."

The three boys quickly turned to each other. A strong whispering conversation started. Every once in a while, JD's young voice could be heard answering a question. Finally, the three boys turned and face the men again. Nathan stood up with the other boys flanking him.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "Yes, we'll stay here – at least until the weather gets better."

Chris smiled, "That's great news. Why don't we shake on it?"

Nathan nodded and held out his hand. After shaking Chris' hand, he looked at the four men. "JD would like to know if he could ride one of the horses?"

The End of part one.


	3. Chapter 3

Ezra could feel eyes on him. Frowning, he tried to figure out why there were eyes on him. He had come over to see Chris. He had sat down to wait for the fire master to come back from one of the pastures. With a sigh, he finally gave in to his curiosity and opened his eyes.

To find himself staring into two dark blue eyes. Blinking, he jerked back, and after shaking his head several times to wake himself, he spoke . "Hello?"

Buck pulled back and smiled. "Uncle Ez, are you awake?"

The man in question blinked. "Uncle?"

The young boy nodded. "Nathan says that Chris is like the dad and the rest of you are Uncles."

Feeling a warm glow from the words, Ezra couldn't help but be glad that the boys agreed to stay with them a week ago. Smiling, the water master finally sat up. "Why did you need me to wake up?"

"Need your help, Nate says that we need an adult to supervise us."

Raising his eyebrow, Ezra frowned. "What do you need me to watch?"

"Its cold outside, and we want to make Chris and the other Uncles tea."

"You want to make tea?"

Nodding, Buck scrambled down from the couch and grabbed Ezra's hand. Pulling slightly, he looked at his Uncle. "Please? Nate says that they should drink some, so they don't get sick, but we're not supposed to heat the water without an adult there."

Following Buck into the kitchen, Ezra smiled at the other two boys. "Sure, I can help. Do I get any tea?"

Frowning, the dark haired boy, turned and looked at the oldest boy of the group. "Can Uncle Ez have tea, too?"

Nathan walked over, with JD trailing behind. Eying the man, the healer nodded. "Sure, but I think he might want a different tea."

Smiling slightly, Ezra motioned the children to follow him. "So, what exactly type of tea are the other three going to have?"

Nathan smiled. Walking closer to Ezra, he started to talk about the tea.

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The sight of a warm drink waiting for him made Chris smile. Taking the cup of tea from JD, he looked at all of them. "Thank you. What type of tea did you make?"

Ezra smiled. "I wouldn't ask that. Just believe me when I say that it is very healthy for you."

Shrugging his shoulders, the fire master took a sip. "It's very good. Why don't you three go and play for a few moments while I talk to Ezra here?"

Nodding, the three boys smiled and headed toward the living room. Chris watched as the three scampered away. When the boys were out of the earshot, Chris motioned for the rest of the men to follow him into his study.

Settling himself behind the desk, he pushed the tea slightly away from him. "First off, what is in that tea?"

The Water Master grinned. "You don't want to know, but it is good for you. Nathan, though thinks that added honey or cream to it makes it lose power."

Shaking his head, Chris looked at the other two men, who didn't even try the tea. With them both smiling at him, he glared back. "It's not funny. Now, Ezra, what did you learn?"

The water master sighed. "Not much. The two men that were after of the boys showed up dead about three days ago. There were no visible wounds. I was able to look over the bodies quickly. They were killed by magic."

The room was stunned silent for a second. Vin broke the silence. "Do you know what type of magic killed them?"

Ezra shook his head. "I couldn't tell what type killed them."

Josiah spoke up. "So we have a person with magic that killed the thugs. It doesn't narrow it down any. We still don't know anything about who is trying to get the boys."

The other men nodded. Chris rubbed his eyes. "Vin, you got any ideas?"

The air master was silent for a few minutes. "Could be, whoever this person is wants to know how the boys work with the elemental spirits. We all agree that they seem to have a relationship with them that we have never seen or heard of."

"True, but why would anyone want to try and capture them for it? From what we've seen, they don't understand themselves how it started or why it has gone on like this. The person wouldn't get any more information about it."

"You are forgetting something, Chris. That's not the only thing. One of the boys is a heir to a vast fortune. The person could be after that, also," Ezra stated from his seat.

"I hadn't thought of that. We need more information. Vin, do you think you could go to town and find out if there is anyone new there? Someone who is stands apart from the normal visitors. We might be able to figure out who it is that way."

Nodding, Vin agreed. "I need to go into town anyways. I'll stop at Inez's place, see if she heard anything."

Nodding, Chris looked at the other two. "Till Vin gets back, one of us will be with the boys at all times. I don't want to take a chance that someone might try and come for them."

In agreement, the four men stood up and headed towards where they could hear the three boys playing.

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Josiah paused, as he watched the three kids run around the field. At first, he wasn't really sure about Chris's idea for him to tutor the boys. But after the first week, he found himself enjoying the time spent with them.

He was no closer in figuring out how or why they were so well liked with the various elemental spirits, but he could see the obvious enjoyment the spirits had in talking with the boys and showing them things.

Shivering sightly, he frowned. He swore he could feel eyes on him. Looking around the field, he couldn't spot anything. Checking the boys, he made sure they were alright. With a sigh, he looked at his pocket watch. Noticing how late it was getting, the priest was about to call to the boys to head back when a shot rang out.

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The loud echo of the shot drew all three boys' heads up from the rabbit hole they had been looking at. Buck had been trying to convince the rabbit to come out. Turning to Josiah, Nathan was the first to move.

Running to the earth wizard, Nathan paused. "Uncle Josiah? What's wrong?"

With no answer forth coming, Nathan moved forward. Placing his hands on the older man, he blinked then turned to Buck. "Get the cart! We need to bring him back to the manor!"

Without a second glance, the middle boy turned and ran to where they had left the cart. Nathan watched, then looked at JD. "Can you grab the basket and other stuff?"

The young boy stared at the older one for a moment. Finally, he headed towards the items.

Nathan looked at the semi-conscious man, biting his lip sightly. He didn't know what to do. Taking a deep breath, he started to look for the wound.

Just as he found the wound, Buck came up with the cart with the horses following him like loyal dogs. Stopping a few feet from Nathan, the dark haired boy waited quietly until he was noticed.

The oldest boy sighed when he saw the wound. Looking up, he smiled slightly when he spotted Buck. "We need to get him in the cart. It's...I...it's...I don't know how to heal it."

"We'll take him back to Da... Chris. He'll know how to fix it."

At that moment, JD ran up with the basket and book. "I got it."

Nathan took a deep breath. "Put the basket and book in the back of the cart, and then get settled next to them."

The youngest boy nodded, knowing that now was not the time to complain about being sent away."

Looking at the adult, Nathan bit his lip. "He's going to be heavy and we got to get him in the cart."

Looking at the distance and how large Josiah was, Buck - with quiet determination - spoke "We can do it."

Ten minutes later, they had gotten Josiah into the cart. The two older boys wanted nothing more than to collapse next to the injured man.

After a few minutes, Nathan stood up. "We got to head back. Do you think you can get the horses to go home?"

Looking at the horses, Buck thought for a second. "I can try. They like Josiah, so they might go home home and go fast."

Nathan nodded. "You can do it."

The two boys scrambled into place. Nathan rode in back with JD, holding Josiah still. Buck rode up on the seat, holding the reins, asking the horses to go home fast.

After a few seconds, the horses started to trot towards the barn. One thought ran through all of the boys heads - they hoped they got to the manor in time.

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Reaching the manor, JD jumped off the cart and ran screaming for Chris. Nathan and Buck, both exhausted, just couldn't move. Staring at the injured man, they both hoped JD would find one of the men.

Faster then they thought, Buck spotted Chris and Ezra rushing to the cart with JD trailing behind them. Nathan gathered enough energy to sit up. Glancing at the unconscious man, he waited until the two men got within hearing distance. "Uncle Josiah is hurt. He was shot in the shoulder. I can't get it to heal."

The two adults exchanged glances. Ezra spoke up. "It's okay, we'll get Josiah into the house and take care of him. Do you or Buck need help?"

Nathan shook his head. "We're just tired. Help Uncle 'shiah, please? He's the one that's hurt."

Reaching out, Ezra put on hand on Nathan's shoulder. "We'll take care of him, but we don't want you two getting sick."

"We're not going to get sick. But.."

"Don't worry. We got him," Chris stated as he and Ezra quickly lifted the unconscious man and carried him quickly into the house.

Nathan and Buck watched them go. Both closed their eyes for a moment, until they heard JD ask: "What can I do?"

The two boys shared a glance. Finally, Buck spoke. "Can you get the doors to the stables open?"

The youngest boy stared at the doors for a second, then shrugged his shoulders. "I can try."

With that he took off, and reached the door. The two oldest watched as the doors were opened slowly by the youngest, inch by inch, until both were open. "Good job, stand aside. I'll get the horse to go in," Buck shouted from his spot on the cart.

JD, with a beaming smile, watched as Buck struggled for a bit before he could free the horses from the cart and let the horses, by themselves, walk through the doors of the stable. The two oldest shared a glance, and fell more than got off the cart, staggering their way to the stable. Buck took a breath. "JD, help Nate to the manor, I'll take care of the horses. "

The youngest glanced between the two older boys, frowning. "I can take care of the horses."

"Naw, not yet. Besides, Nathan is about to fall over. He needs the help. He is the oldest."

Nathan shot a mock glare at Buck before he spoke. "Yes, I'll need the help, and we can see how Uncle Josiah is."

"Okay."

As JD helped the oldest boy towards the manor, Nathan called back, . "Don't take to long, or I'll send him after you."

Buck gave a tired smile. "I won't be."

With that, the three boys separated.

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Buck sighed as he stared at the horses for a second. He was worried about Josiah, but he had to take care of the horses first. With a shake of his head, he moved over to the stool that they had placed in the barn so that they could work with the horses.

Climbing up on the stool, he started to brush the horses down and remove their tacks. Just as he finished putting the horses into the stall, he was startled when he felt a warm breath against his neck.

Turning around, he jumped back and tripped when he saw what had come up behind him.

Blinking, he stared in surprise. "How did you get in here? You're not one of Da's horses."

The horse just stared at the boy. Buck frowned. Looking at the animal, he noticed that the horse was different than the other horses. Though, Buck didn't know how he knew the difference between the horses.

The blue eyed boy sighed. "You need to go home, unless you're hurt or need help?"

The horse neighed. Buck smiled slightly. "Alright, I'll get you clean, and you can stay the night. But you really need to go home. I bet someone is missing you."

The horse nodded in agreement. With one more look at the door of the stable, Buck started grooming the horse. He hoped that Uncle Josiah was alright.

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Chris sighed. They had gotten the bullet out of Josiah's side and stitched it up. He wiped his hands off on a towel. Rolling his neck to loosen the tension, he turned away from the sleeping man to see Nathan staring at the injured man. Frowning, the fire master stepped over to the young boy.

"Where's JD and Buck?"

Nathan looked up at the older man. "JD is taking a nap. Buck is out in the stable taking care of the horses."

Chris looked over at Ezra. The water master nodded and headed out of the room, to go check on the two other boys. "You did a good job getting him back here," Chris said.

"I couldn't heal him though. Why couldn't I?"

"Have you ever seen a wound like that?"

Staring at the injured man for a moment, Nathan nodded. "I've healed bigger knife wounds. I healed bullet wounds, I should have been able to do it."

Chris jerked back. He was shocked that someone this young had seen gunshot wounds. Taking a deep breath, he sat down next to the young boy. "Maybe there was a reason why you couldn't heal the wound? Was there anything that was weird when you tried to heal it?"

Closing his eyes for a moment, Nathan thought about the time. Finally, with a sigh, he spoke. "The bullet won't come to me. It didn't want to leave the wound."

Chris glanced at the bullet. "Alright, so maybe there was something stopping you from healing the wound, but you got him back here where we could take of him. You did a really great job. Now why don't you go clean up and take a nap?"

"I'm fine. I'm not a kid."

Chris grinned, "I know you aren't, but I'm sure JD would be happier with someone he knows in the room with him."

Nathan frowned for a second, then with a sigh he nodded. "Alright. I'll check on JD, but call if anything happens."

Looking at the boy, Chris nodded. "I'll get you if anything happens."

With that, Nathan took one last looked at the sleeping man and he headed towards the room JD was sleeping in.

The fire master waited for several minutes, making sure Nathan was gone. He walked over to the bullet that was left in a small bowl. Staring at the small piece of lead, Larabee took a deep breath, closed his eyes and concentrated on the bullet.

After a few moments, his eyes shot open and he cursed. The bullet had been touched by magic. Magic that would stop any other magic from interfering with it.

Staring at the small piece of lead, Chris frowned. This was getting serious in a hurry. Someone was willing to kill to get to the kids. They had better find out who soon, before anyone else gets hurt.

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Having checked on the sleeping boy, Ezra headed out to the stables. Reaching the building, he entered and paused. The gray colored horse stared at the Water master. Smiling faintly, Ezra asked, "Buck, where did you get the horse?"

The boy in question stepped around the horse. "It came in here by itself. I told the horse it could stay the night. Is that okay?"

Walking closer to Buck, Ezra couldn't help but feel that the horse was staring at him and was making sure that he wasn't going to hurt Buck. Walking towards the boy, Ezra knelt down. "You done in here? I think its time you got inside."

Buck put down the brush the he'd been using and turned to his Uncle. "Is Uncle Siah going to be alright? Nathan wasn't able to remove the bullet. He couldn't heal him."

Ezra took a deep breath. "Josiah will be alright. Chris was able to help him."

"Can I see him?"

"Tomorrow. He's sleeping right now. Now say good night to the horses and your new friend and we'll head back to the house for some supper."

Nodding, Buck went to each horse and said good night. When he reached the gray horse, the young boy hugged the horse and then told him to behave. The horse tossed his head. Buck stared at the horse for a second, then turned to the water mage, "I'm ready."

When Ezra picked the boy up, Buck frowned. "I can walk."

"I know, but I like carrying you."

"Alright,"

With that Ezra, with a last glance at the horse, headed back to the house. He was going to have to talk to Chris.

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Later that night, when the boys were asleep and Ezra and Chris were watching over Josiah, Ezra spoke up. "You have a new horse."

Blinking, Chris took a deep breath. "What?"

The water master sighed, "A horse. It seems that Buck has found himself a familiar."

"Isn't he a little young?"

Looking over at the sleeping man, Ezra fell quiet for a few minutes -- trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "Not necessary. They show up sooner, sometimes -- when they think their person is in trouble."

"So, it showed up because Buck is in trouble?"

"Yes -- well maybe. I'm still not sure. Buck, though, doesn't seem to know what it is. He just thinks it's a horse."

Closing his eyes, the fire master wondered what was going on. With a sigh, he looked over at Ezra. "He's the heir, isn't he?"

The water master shifted. That wasn't one of the questions he wanted to answer. But, against the glare from the fire master, he talked.. "I..Yes, he is. The horse confirms it."

"How long have you known?"

"I've suspected for awhile. But tonight sealed it."

Glaring at the wall, Chris wondered what else could happen. "So, not only do we have to figure out who is after the boys and why? Find out who shot Josiah? Now, we need to worry about anyone finding out about Buck."

Fiddling with a pack of cards, Ezra looked towards Josiah, hoping that that man would wake up. When there was no sign of the earth wizard waking, Ezra finally spoke. "When is Vin coming back? We're going to need him here."

Dragging himself out from his memories, Chris answered. "Tomorrow, sometime. He should have some information for us. I hope. We need to know what is going on. We aren't going to let the kids get hurt."

The water master nodded. "What are we going to do? Whoever this person is seems to know what we are and is able to attack us even when we are on guard."

Rubbing his face with his hand, Chris answered. "When Vin gets back, we'll set up a ward. Make it impossible for anything that is a danger to the boys to cross it. Then, depending on what he learns, we take action from there."

Nodding in agreement, the two men went back to a silent vigil over Josiah. The only sound from the room was breathing and the flipping of cards.

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Upstairs in the room that the boys shared, the boys were awake. They had tried to sleep but nightmares had woken them up. They knew it would take awhile for them to fall back asleep. JD looked up at the oldest boy, "Nate, is Uncle Josiah going to be okay?"

Nathan looked over at the youngest boy. "He'll be fine. When he wakes up, I'll make him that special tea. Chris says it should work now that the bullet is gone."

JD breathed a sigh of relief. Buck fiddled with the blanket for a minute. Finally, he spoke up. "We have a new horse. He came into the barn today when I was brushing the other animals. I told him he didn't belong but he said he wanted to stay. I said he could stay the night. He beautiful, all gray and big. He's really nice."

JD quickly piped up. "What's his name?"

"I don't know. He never said. I never gave him one. Is that bad?"

Nathan shook his head. "Nah, its okay. I'm sure the horse will tell you. The horse most likely thought you were too tired. Now, we gotta go back to sleep. We're going to have to help out tomorrow."

With a nod, the three boys settled again and, after a while, they fell back asleep.

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Vin was tired. He left the town before the sun had rose. Reaching the stables, he pushed open the door and stopped. Blinking, he rubbed his eyes. There was an extra horse in the stable. Getting off his own horse, he slowly moved over to the large gray that had been placed in an empty stall.

Walking over to the horse, he reached out and touched the horse. "How did you get in here?"

The horse just stare at the man. After a couple of minutes of silence, Vin started to feel that the horse knew something that he didn't know.

Shaking his head, he sighed. "You're tried. Its just a horse."

With that mutter, he turn away and saw to his horse.

Ten minutes later, he wandered into the quiet house. A sound from one of the rooms surprised him. Making his way over to the room, he peered in. Taking a step in, he moved over to Josiah, who was laid out on a table in the room.

Noticing, Chris and Ezra resting in two chairs next to the injured man, the air master moved closer.

When he was a foot or so away from Josiah, Chris and Ezra both startled awake. Vin waited for the two men to see him."What happened? Are the children okay?"

Chris blinked for a second. "They're fine. They got Josiah back here. He should be fine."

Looking at the wounded man, the air master frowned. "Nate couldn't heal him?"

Sitting back in the chairs, the fire master shook his head. "Seems that the bullet had a magical protection on it, so Nate couldn't heal it. The three boys brought him back in the cart."

"Are they okay? Seeing Josiah injured couldn't have been a good thing to see."

Ezra spoke up from his seat. "It seems that at least Nathan and Buck both have seen these injures before. Nathan has even healed gunshot wounds."

Vin looked shocked for a second. Shaking his head, he sat down in an empty chair. "Has Josiah woken up yet?"

"He's up now. You three aren't that quiet."

The three mages rose up and gathered around the injured man. "You okay?" Chris asked.

Sitting up with a grunt, the earth master nodded. "I'm fine. What happened?"

Sharing a glance with the rest of the mages, Ezra spoke up first. "I highly doubt you're fine. But since you are awake, we can find out what you remember."

Closing his eyes, the injured man thought for a second. "Not much. I was watching the children trying to get a rabbit to visit with them. Then a feeling of someone watching me, and then the bullet slamming into me."

"That's more than what Nate could recall. Vin, what information did you find out?"

"Not much. Inez hasn't seen any strangers that would fit the description. The only visitor to the town I could find out about was a man named Fowler. I checked with Travis to see if he knew anything. He hadn't heard of the man, but he is looked into it. The only thing he could immediately find out about the man was that he's a hired thug that knows how to kill mages."

"Do you know who hired this person?"

Vin looked over at Ezra. "Nope, whoever is behind it, it is keeping a low profile."

Chris heard feet coming down the stairs and motioned the group to be quiet. He wasn't surprised when three faces showed up at the door way. Smiling, he nodded at the boys. Before Chris could say anything, JD spoke up. "You're awake."

With that announcement, the three children rushed into the room and paused just short of the table Josiah was laid out on. Nathan moved closer to the earth master, "Are you okay? I can fix it now."

The adults shared a look. Josiah spoke up. "Fix it?"

Nathan nodded. "Yep, well not totally-- just make it heal faster. If I fixed it all at once it wouldn't be as strong."

Ezra got up from his chair, "Yes you can. I was about to change the bandages and I, for one, would prefer some help from an expert."

Nodding, Nathan headed over to help the water wizard. Buck and JD looked at the rest of the men. Something dawned on JD. He suddenly shouted. "Uncle Vin, your back!"

Rushing over to the man, Vin had just enough time to capture the young boy rushing over to him and pick him up. "Yep, I'm back. You two been good?"

"You two been good?"

Buck nodded, while JD spoke up again. "Yes, we were good. Buck has a new friend. It's a horse."

Vin frowned. "Is that the new horse in the stables? Wondered where he came from."

Buck looked nervously at the four men. "He's only staying for the night. He promised. He just wanted a place to sleep. I said it was okay. Ezra said he could stay."

Vin quickly moved over to Buck. Kneeling down in front of him, he smiled. "It's okay. I was just wondering about the new horse, that's all."

"He nice, smarter then the other horses. Not that your horses aren't smart, but he seems to know a lot more."

Chris thought for a moment. "Why not after breakfast, you can introduce us to the new horse. Just so we can make sure that he is as nice as you say."

Buck was nodding in agreement. Before he could say anything, Nathan spoke up. "Done. It's going to be sore for awhile, but in a few days it should be fine."

Josiah angled his head to check out the wound. Shaking his head, he was amazed at how Nathan could just heal. While Josiah looked at the repair job, Nathan had already moved back toward the other two boys. Reaching the doorway, he turned to Ezra. "Uncle Ezra, could you help me make tea? I think Josiah would feel better after some."

Laughing at the sheer panic that had come over the earth master's face, Chris said something before Josiah could bolt. "Why don't we all go get breakfast and let Josiah clean up? Then we can go out make sure all the horses are alright."

The boys nodded and headed towards the kitchen. The adults split up. Josiah headed off to clean up, while the rest followed the boys to the kitchen for breakfast.

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After a good breakfast, Chris and Vin followed the children out to the stable. Josiah and Ezra each had to check on their properties, but promised that they would be back for lunch.

Reaching the stable, Chris opened the door. Walking into the stables, his eyes immediately went to the new horse. Blinking several times, he stared at the horse. There was something that the horse reminded him of. He couldn't recall what it was though. "Vin, that horse look familiar to you?"

Vin moved closer to get a better look. "Now, that you mention it, he does look familiar. Don't know where from, though."

Looking down at Buck, Chris smiled. "He looks like a nice horse. Do you know his name?"

The blue eyed child looked at the horse for a second. "He says his name is Liath."

The two elemental masters exchanged looks. It would come to them eventually. Walking over to the horse, Chris was able to pet it. Meeting the horse's eyes, he had the feeling that it was smarter then he thought. "Where did he come from?"

Buck walked up, standing next to Chris. "He's from out there. He felt the need to come in here. He won't tell me anything else."

Looking at the horse, Chris stared at it, then asked a question. "Will you hurt the children?"

The horse shook his head no, neighing in disagreement at the same time. With a final look, Chris looked over at Buck. "He can stay as long as he wants."

Smiling, Buck jumped up and down. "Thank you! So, can we take care of the rest of the horses now?"

Chris nodded. "Yes."

Smiling, the boys hopped to taking care of the horses. Their mood lightened as they helped with the chores.

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A week or so later, Buck looked up from his horse to Ezra and smiled "Can we go faster?"

"No, we need to start heading back. I'm sure JD and Nathan would like their turn."

"Alright."

Ezra turned the horse around. Buck closed his eyes and enjoyed the trot back, when he heard a grunt.

Before he opened his eyes, he could feel himself falling off his horse. When he hit the ground with a 'thump', Buck was able to open his eyes. He frowned, seeing Uncle Ezra on the ground not far from him. Scrambling up onto his knees, he crawled across the ground. He had just reached his Uncle, when he felt a hand on him. Trying to twist onto his back, he stared at the the man above him. "Go away."

The man smiled. "Now, where are you going?"

Buck froze, not sure what was going on. The man sneered. "You're the one she wants. For what, I don't care – but you are going to make me a very rich man."

"Leave me alone!"

"Don't make trouble, child. I don't want to have to hurt your Uncle any more."

Buck froze, "Don't hurt him."

Fowler paused. "If you come with me, I promise to leave him alone."

Buck stared at Ezra for several seconds. Holding back tears, he nodded.

Seeing the nod, Fowler could taste the money he would soon be getting. "Alright. Now come along."

Buck was dragged away from Ezra, his eyes never leaving the unconscious man. Before Fowler could move too far, Buck's horse suddenly attacked the man. Jumping backwards, Fowler barely missed the the flashing hooves. The man pulled the child in front of him. The horse calmed down. "Call your horse off, kid, or I'll go back and hurt your Uncle."

Terrified about what the evil man could do to the water wizard, Buck started to talk to the horse. "No, don't. He'll hurt Ezra. Go get Chris."

Fowler put a hand over Buck's mouth. "That wasn't very smart."

Glaring at the horse, Fowler smiled at the horse. "Go, get Larabee. We'll be gone by then. Do what the boy says."

Liath watched his master, staring into the boy's eyes, he neighed, turned and galloped back towards the manor.

Buck watched the horse go. His attention was dragged from it as the man pulled on his arm. "Lets get going."

Feeling the tears drip from his eyes, Buck wondered if he would see his Chris, the Uncles, Nathan and JD again.

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Chris looked up from the stall he was mucking out when he heard the sounds of the horse heading towards the barn. Putting down his rake, he walked out of the barn. His mouth went dry when he saw the horse with no one on it. Calling Josiah and Vin, he rushed out to greet the horse.

Reaching for the bridle, he stopped the horse. Looking the horse in the eye, he frowned. "Where's Buck and Ezra?"

The horse pulled Chris toward the way he'd come. Seeing Vin and Josiah, Chris made a quick decision. "Josiah, stay with JD and Nathan. Vin, saddle up our horses. We're going to find Ezra and Buck."

Without a word, the two elemental masters followed orders. Josiah quickly went to Nathan and JD. Vin rushed to the horses. The two boys stared at the older man. "Uncle Josiah, what's wrong? Where's Buck?" Nathan asked.

Kneeling down to the kids, the earth mage took a deep breath. "We don't know. Chris and Vin are going to go find him. They'll bring them back. Meanwhile, we are going to have to be strong for them and make sure all the chores are done while we wait."

Nathan and JD shared a long look. Finally, JD asked, "They're going to be alright, right?"

Gathering both boys into his arms, Josiah hugged them. "They'll be fine."

As he said this, Chris and Vin headed out of the stable, following Liath.

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Galloping after the horse, the worst case scenario of what could have happened to Buck and Ezra ran through both elemental master's minds. Chris was the first one to see the body lying on the ground. Urging his horse faster, Chris pulled up next to the body.

Getting off his horse, he knelt down and checked the pulse. Finding one, he breathed out in relief. Looking up at Vin, he smiled. "He's just knocked out. You want to get him back? I'm going after whoever took Buck."

Looking down at Ezra, Vin frowned. "If he's just knocked out, we can leave him for a few minutes. You may need backup on this."

Chris was about to speak up when Ezra started to come around. Vin looked over at Ezra. "You okay?"

Blinking, Ezra frowned for a second, then the events flowed over him. "Where's Buck?"

"We don't know. We're following his horse. Can we leave you or do you need help?"

Looking at Chris, Ezra winced as he shook his head. "Go, I'm fine. Just pick me up on the way back."

Nodding, Chris started after the horse again. Vin nodded once, and got Peso to followed Chris. Ezra watched them go, hoping that they would reach Buck in time.

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The two men followed the horse for a half hour. Finally, Liath stopped on top of a hill. Chris and Vin both stopped their horses and got off. Moving to the crest of the hill, they stared down at the scene below.

Buck was tied up, a gag placed across his mouth. The man who took him was looking at his horse, which kept moving away from him. All the time, the man was shooting looks at the boy every once in awhile. Vin smiled. "Looks like Buck convinced the horse to stop."

Chris nodded. "So, how do you think we should do this?"

Vin looked down at what was happening. "We can ride down, grab Buck and head back."

Chris frowned, "No, you grab Buck. I'm going to talk to this man, find out why he took Buck and who he works for."

"Chris?"

Glaring at Vin, Chris just shook his head. "No, You're the faster rider. Besides, he's on my property."

Grumbling about Fire masters and their emotions, Vin finally agreed. "All right."

The two got on their horses and started down the hill.

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Fowler glared at his horse. It was all the boy's fault. He had done something to his horse and told it not to take them any further. If he was allowed, he would of just have killed the boy. It would've been easier. Growling under his breath, he didn't hear the horses coming down towards him until they were several meters away.

Cursing, he headed towards the tied up boy. He wasn't going to let his prize escape. He knew what she would do to him if he didn't get the boy back to her.

The race was on. Luckily Vin was able to reach down and pick up Buck before Fowler reached him. Holding Buck close to him, Vin raced away, trusting Chris to take care of the man that had taken Buck.

Chris saw that that Vin had secured Buck and was leaving the area. Smiling, he rode his horse towards the man. Cutting him off, he jumped off his horse. Whipping out his gun, he growled at the kidnapper. "Stop. You aren't going to escape and I want some answers, Fowler."

Fowler glared at the mage. "You guessed my name, good for you, but I'm not going to tell you anything else."

"You don't have a choice, there isn't anywhere you can go."

Grinning, the man pulled out something from his pocket. Chris frowned. "What is that."

"My way out. I activate this and you can't touch me."

Staring at the amulet for a second, the fire master's eyes widened. "Fowler don't! Whoever gave you that lied! You active it and you die!"

"You're just trying to stop me from escaping. The person who hired me to snatch that boy wouldn't do that. Besides, I won't give up who hired me. I will tell you though, that the person has been after you for a long time. They were involved with your wife and son's death. Course you will never know who it is."

Chris took a step forward. He wanted to know who this person was, so he could find them. As he reached out to grab Fowler, the man smiled and activated the amulet.

There was a brief flash of light a loud scream, and then nothing.

Blinking, Chris picked himself up from the ground. Where Fowler had been was nothing now – just a scorch mark on the grass to show where the man had been standing.

Walking over to the spot, Chris spotted the amulet lying a few feet away. Picking the item up, he wrapped it in a cloth and placed it into his saddle bag. He would have Josiah look at it. With one more look around the clearing, he got back onto his horse and headed to where Vin and Buck waited.

Joining the two, he smiled. "Lets go pick up Ezra and head back to the rest."

Vin nodded and the group of four horses headed back towards the rest of the group.

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JD and Nathan couldn't sit still. They kept themselves busy with taking care of the horses and asking Josiah questions, but it did little to keep them distracted from worrying about Buck.

JD's head jerked up as he heard the clop of hooves coming his way. Moving quickly to the door of the stables, he shouted to the other two, "I see them, they're coming this way."

Nathan joined JD at the doorway. When the horses came to a stop, the boys raced out to the horses. Pausing, Nathan spoke, "Is Buck okay? How about Uncle Ezra?"

Ezra blinked, "Just a headache. Nothing to worry about."

Buck piped up from his spot, where he was clinging to Vin. "Nathan, he got knocked off Liath and then he was unconscious. He needs tea."

Ezra grimaced. "I'm fine."

Josiah walked up to the rest of the men, "How's Buck?"

Vin patted the Buck on the back. "He's tired, banged up slightly, but we were able to get him before anything happened. He was smart. He convinced Fowler's horse not to carry them."

Setting Buck down, JD and Nathan surrounded the dark-haired boy. Hugging him, Nathan made sure that the younger boy was alright. After a few minutes, the oldest boy looked up at Chris. "Is he gone now?"

Getting down from his horse, Chris nodded. "He's gone. You are all safe for right now. Now why don't we head inside? It's been a long day."

The group agreed. After taking care of the horses, they went inside into the house.

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Several hours later, the elemental masters were sitting around in Chris's office. They had spent some time with the boys, reassuring them that they were safe and that no one would take them from them. Finally, after a time they were able to get the boys to asleep.

Now, Chris leaned back in his chair behind his desk. Sighing, he spoke up. "Well, Fowler worked for someone. "

Taking a sip of tea, Ezra sighed. "Did you find out why he wanted Buck?"

"No, just that his employer wanted him."

Vin frowned, "Did he know anything to help us with?"

"No, he wouldn't give up any information about who hired him. Just that the person seems to be interested in me."

Josiah spoke up, "Is it someone you know or is it someone who has something against you?"

Slamming down his glass, Chris snarled out. "No, I don't know. No one that I can think of would try something like this."

The three men exchanged glances. Vin spoke, trying to calm the fire master. "We're find out. They're bound to do something stupid. Then we'll find them."

Taking a deep breath, Chris acknowledged the words. "Till then, I want to set up a ward around both properties --something to make sure those that aren't invited can't come on to the land. I don't want the boys to be taken again. We might have lost Buck, if he hadn't asked the horse to stop."

The group nodded. Vin spoke up. "Do we know anything more about Buck's horse?"

Josiah answered that question. "Nope. We've researched it, but so far we haven't found anything. I left a message with Travis. I'm hoping he might know something."

Nodding, Chris rubbed his head. It had been a long day. "Tomorrow night, when the boys are in bed, we'll set the ward up."

The three men nodded. Soon, goodnights were exchanged. Each man knew that the next day was going to be long, and the night even longer.


End file.
